Kin of slain NDF consultants hit ‘tokhang-style’ murder of ‘elderly, sickly’ couple

MANILA, Philippines — Families of couple Agaton Topacio and Eugenia Magpantay on Tuesday urged the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to investigate what they called “tokhang-style murder” of the National Democratic Front (NDF) peace consultants.

In a statement, the families denounced the claim of the police that the “elderly and sickly” couple resisted arrest.

“Both husband and wife are already 69 years old and are already afflicted by the physical infirmities of old age,” the families said.

“Eugenia Magpantay is suffering from diabetes and has experienced a stroke recently, which rendered her comatose for four days, while Agaton Topacio was in pain for heart enlargement, knee injury on his anterior cruciate ligament, and frozen shoulder,” they added.

The couple was killed in an alleged gun battle with agents of the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group last week.

Police said they were about to serve four search warrants and two warrants of arrest issued against the suspects inside their residence in Angono, Rizal when the couple supposedly resisted and exchanged fire with the officers.

But the families Magpantay and Topacio are convinced that the police are only using its usual “nanlaban” narrative to justify the killings.

“There is simply no way that the elderly couple was even able to put up a resistance, let alone an armed one, against dozens of policemen armed with high-power guns and artillery,” the families said.

“Instead, as the narrative appears before us, the police are merely iterating their “nanlaban” narrative to justify the tokhang-style murder of an elderly and sickly couple.”

They added: “We call on the Commission on Human Rights to conduct an independent investigation into the killings of Agaton Topacio and Eugenia Magpantay and hold accountable the perpetrators and minds behind this gruesome and crime. Our family will seek justice.” Miggy Dumlao, trainee

JE